Joxer
Joxer the Mighty was a recurring character on and . He was one of the closest friends of Xena and Gabrielle. Although he was incapable of fighting and wasn't the smartest of people (and mostly oblivious of this), he was a loyal friend and extremely trustworthy. He was one of three identical triplets; Jett, a professional assassin and Jace, a rather flamboyant performer. He didn't have a close relationship with either of them, although implications would lead one to believe that he was closer to Jett than he was to Jace. When he was first introduced, Joxer wanted to join Callisto's army and seemed to have convinced himself that he was a villain of a sort. His far fetched self-belief lead him to realise that he would be more useful as a "good-guy" type, and he began to see himself as the hero instead of the sidekick. Traveling with Xena and Gabrielle, they built a strong friendship and trust. By the end of Season Two, he had fallen in love with Gabrielle, something that he would not tell her until three seasons later. This was one of the longest continuing relationships on . When Xena and Gabrielle were presumed dead to prevent the Twilight of the Gods, Joxer was convinced that they were alive, and searched for their bodies for years. He looked after Argo and her daughter and dedicated his business to the duo, creating an inn that was filled with pictures and artwork related to them. He and Meg had three known children, two of which were shown but never named and the other was Virgil. When Xena and Gabrielle escaped the ice cave, they found Joxer's Inn and were reunited with him. In order to find Eve, they traveled to Rome, where they discovered that Eve was in fact the Roman Empress-to-be, Livia. Once Xena had managed to expose her affair with Ares and split her and the Emperor Octavius, she went on a killing spree of the Elijans. Joxer attempted to protect Gabrielle, who had been captured by Eve, but was killed by her. Joxer built several relationships throughout the show. His love and strong relationship with Gabrielle, close friendship with Xena and love interest with Meg, being the most obvious. He also had other notable friendships with Amarice, Autolycus, and Arman. He also had a notable antagonistic relationship with Callisto. Joxer was played by Ted Raimi. Early Life Joxer is the youngest of his triplet brothers, Jett and Jace. He grew up on Olympic Street, close to Aghmar the Meatman. His father came from a line of warlords, a path which he tried to follow, unsuccessfully. Little is known about the rest of his family, only that his father was serving time in prison for an unknown crime and Jett was in there with him, for his assassination attempt on Cleopatra in "The King Of Assassins". Jett possibly escaped from prison, due to the bounty on his head in "Takes One To Know One". Story Early Travels with Xena and Gabrielle Joxer first appeared in 'Callisto', where he was turned down by Callisto for joining her army. He later went on to travel with Xena and Gabrielle, where he decided to fight for the Greater Good. He isn't trained in any fighting skill, weapon or hand-to-hand, despite carrying a sword. Considering this, he does have a heart of gold and often shows extreme bravery. Deepening the Character It is revealed in 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' that Joxer can play the Lyre. He does so, and it causes all of the Bacchae to be temporarily disabled. The first time he meets his future wife, Meg, was in 'Warrior... Princess... Tramp'. Meg, a Xena look-a-like, shows signs of attraction to Joxer. Joxer, thinking it is Xena who likes him, becomes secretive towards Meg. The two become closer and both drop hints throughout the show that they are having an affair. It isn't until 'A Comedy of Eros', that we first get an insight into Joxer's character. Cupid's son, Eros, wreaks havoc by shooting people with his father's arrows. When he shoots Gabrielle and she falls in love with Joxer, he basks in the attention he gets from her. When Cupid returns to put everyone right again, he tries to heal the love-sick Joxer, but after a few attempts Xena tells him to leave Joxer, as it's real, hinting that Xena had known about his secret crush all along. Later that day, Gabrielle jokes with Joxer by saying that she couldn't imagine the two of them in love. He looks rather depressed, when Xena places her hand on his shoulder and smiles, as if to indicate that everything will be fine. Joxer's brother, Jett, puts in his first appearance in 'The King Of Assassins', where he tries to kill Cleopatra. Joxer seemed to be scared of his older brother. This was later revealed to be jusy sibling rivalry, when Jett kills Cleopatra's rogue guard, who hurts Joxer. Jett then says that no one harms his little brother but him. When Joxer is almost beaten to death by a Casino owner's son, Xena and Gabrielle show a more loving and protective side to Joxer, by trying to stop bring own this Casino owner. An almost dead Joxer manages to get out of bed and, despite his condition, tries to face up to Titus, the Casino owner and his son, Leo. Xena manages to bring down Titus and Leo with the help of Rafe and Eldon, two con men. Gaining Xena's Trust Joxer may be the 'comic relief' of the show, but Xena knows that she can trust him. She shows this, immensely so, by entrusting with him the location of the Hind's Blood Dagger and asking him to retrieve it for her, So that she can kill Gabrielle's Demi-God daughter, Hope. He does so, proving him worthy of her trust. Xena then tries to find Gabrielle, and Ares claims he knows where she is, but there is a catch. She must marry him. Xena confides in Joxer, due to Gabrielle's absence. This proves that she thinks of Joxer as the next in line to Gabrielle. Relationships With Other Heroes Joxer sought to ingratiate himself with other heroes when he felt out of place with Xena and Gabrielle. He visited Hercules and Iolaus and tried to join them just before Hercules married Serena. When Hercules gave up his strength and he and Iolaus briefly parted ways, Joxer tried to travel with Iolaus and become his new partner. This only served to remind Iolaus that his place was at Hercules' side (HTLJ "When a Man Loves a Woman"). First Kill and Aftermath {C Joxer had never killed (despite what he says) until the episode, 'The Convert', where he kills a warlord, Cryton, who has ransacked a church, and is trying to kidnap the virgins. Joxer is speechless and slumps into depression after this. Xena tells him to face up to what he's done by telling someone - his son, Arman. He does so, and Armand is livid at Joxer's actions. After Armand calms down, he tells Joxer that he is no longer angry with Joxer, as he knows that his father was evil and that someone had to stop him. Armand and Joxer stay good friends. Joxer seems to mature after this. He seems to be more aware and engages a bit more in the combat. Soulmate The first reference to Joxer being Xena and Gabrielle's soulmate is made in 'Deja Vu All Over Again', where, he is alongside Gabrielle and Xena in present day. His in the body of a woman, Annie Day (Played by Lucy Lawless). In the next episode, 'Fallen Angel', he then tells Amarice that he had been having dreams that Xena and Gabrielle were in trouble. This is true (They had been crucified), showing that there is a psychological link between the three. Admitting His Love for Gabrielle After Eli and Callisto ressurect Xena and Gabrielle from the dead, he realizes that he nearly lost her, and it was this that was the catalyst that made him tell Gabrielle that he loves her. He confides in Eli the 'Love Guru', in his own words, that he wants to tell her but doesn't know how to. Eli tells him that he should just say what he feels in his heart. Joxer chooses a rather stupid moment to tell her - in the heat of battle. Gabrielle is shocked by the news, but accepts it and moves on, as does Joxer. Reconciling with His Brother Joxer's other brother, Jace, makes his debut in 'Lyre, Lyre, Hearts On Fire'. He is portrayed as being a very flamboyant, camp, pop king. He wore a pink, frilly all-in-one and speaks with a fake Spanish accent. He is nothing like Joxer or Jett, despite being triplets. He is also possibly homosexual, judging by his stereotypical appearance. Joxer doesn't speak of his brother, as he is embarrassed by him. After some thinking, Joxer decides to reconcile with his brother and put their differences aside. After Xena and Gabrielle's Death After Xena and Gabrielle's death, he began searching for them non-stop. It is during this time that he had his first son, Virgil, with his long-time lover, Meg. He opened up a tavern in memory of Xena and Gabrielle, which had Xena and Gabrielle related themes to its food and building layout. He also gained possession of Argo, Xena's horse. He put her in foul, and named the offspring Argo II. He never let anyone ride her, and kept her in a field outside his tavern. After Argo died, he gave up hope and stopped looking for Xena and Gabrielle. He had more children with Meg and settled down and focused on his business. Years later, the local auctioneer came into Joxer's tavern, trying to flog a scroll, entitled 'Looking Death In The Eye'. It is said that it was the chronicle of Xena and Gabrielle's last adventure. He skimmed through it and realized that it was in Gabrielle's writing and bought it for 65 Dinars, with hope that it would give answers to Xena and Gabrielle's where abouts. He reads the story to two of his younger children. Much to his dismay, it doesn't reveal the location of Xena and Gabrielle. Death Probably about about 10 years later, Xena and Gabrielle awaken from their 25 year survival without a clue where they are. They stumble across a tavern that has a replica of Xena's Chakram and Gabrielle's Sais above the door. Of course, they enter and find an old Joxer and Meg arguing over a food order. Joxer turns around to find the past staring right back at him. He catches them up on what they've missed and he introduces them to Virgil. Joxer tells Xena and Gabrielle that Octavius (Now Augustus Caesar) swore that they were alive. Xena then asks if he said anything about Eve and then they decide to go to Rome to find her. They discover that Eve is now called Livia and is known as 'The Bitch Of Rome'. Joxer, Xena and Gabrielle try to talk her into sense and tell her who she really is, but they fail. Xena chases her down on her own, but Gabrielle follows and tells Virgil to not to tell Joxer where shes gone. Virgil tells him after persuasion and he follows Gabrielle. Livia fails to see sense and Joxer pays the price with his life. He died trying to protect Gabrielle. Livia was trying to kill her, but killed Joxer instead. After his death, Joxer's son Virgil traveled with Xena, Gabrielle and Eve, after forgiving her for killing his father. It should be noted that after his father died, Virgil used Joxer's sword in respect of his memory. Gallery File:Man_loves_03.jpg|Coming to the Defense of the Golden Hind in "When a Man Loves a Woman" File:Play_thing_14.jpg|In "The Play's the Thing" Running Gags Part of being the comic relief of a programme, comes running gags, and Joxer had a few of them: *Fainting whenever kissed. *Gabrielle pinching his nose. *Unspontaneously saving the day. *Never taken seriously. *Oblivious to his deathly cooking. Background Information *The Joxer family may be based on the Booth family; the parallels are: **Joxer and Junius Brutus Booth both are overshadowed by their renowned brothers; Junius Booth was even overshadowed by his famous actor wife **Jett and John Wilkes Booth both are infamous assassins **Jace and Edwin Booth are very famous entertainers, Edwin Booth is still remembered as probably the best Hamlet in American history and comemorated in dedications and statues Trivia *Although it is often over-looked, he is Xena and Gabrielle's soulmate, appearing in all of their future lives. *Joxer is one of the five characters to have appeared in every season of Xena: Warrior Princess. The other four are Gabrielle, Cyrene, Ares and Xena. *Joxer does not kill until the Season Four episode "The Convert", a rather impressive feat for a frequent guest star on a cult/action show. *Joxer has appeared in 42 episodes of . He is third only to Xena and Gabrielle, respectively, to have appeared in the most episodes. *Joxer was part of one of the biggest super-arcs on - His unrequited love for Gabrielle, which ran from "A Comedy of Eros" to "Chakram". Even after "Chakram", the two would be put in awkward situations and show great care towards one another, continuing the storyline. *Joxer is allergic to Sheep. *Ted Raimi also plays Jett and Jace, his on-screen brothers. There is a 30 minute age-gap between Jace and Joxer]], meaning that they are triplets with their brother Jett, who calls Joxer his "twin brother". *Joxer has 3 known descendants; Jack Klienman, Ted and Annie Day. **It is unknown if Annie Day is actually his descendant, or is just inhabited by his spirit. The latter may be more accurate, as Ares switched Xena's and Joxer's souls into the "correct" bodies of Annie Day and Harry O'Casey, respectively. Equipment *Joxer's Helmet *Joxer's Scabberd *Joxer's Sword *Joxer's Outfit Appearances See Also *Joxer (Alternate Reality) *Annie Day *Joxer 2 Category:Characters Category:Fathers Category:HTLJ Season 3 characters Category:Mortals Category:XWP characters Category:XWP Season 1 characters Category:XWP Season 2 characters Category:XWP Season 3 characters Category:XWP Season 4 characters Category:XWP Season 5 characters Category:XWP Season 6 characters Category:Peoples